{"id":446366,"date":"2026-09-24T15:54:19","date_gmt":"2026-09-24T15:54:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/446366\/"},"modified":"2026-09-24T15:54:19","modified_gmt":"2026-09-24T15:54:19","slug":"school-district-in-texas-decides-to-cancel-football-for-two-seasons","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/446366\/","title":{"rendered":"School District in Texas Decides to Cancel Football for Two Seasons"},"content":{"rendered":"

Keene Independent School District in Texas recently announced that effective immediately, it will take a safe approach and cancel the remainder of the Chargers\u2019 varsity football season this year and next season as well.<\/p>\n

Injuries Led to Shortage of Healthy Players<\/p>\n

Dr. Ricky Stephens, the Keene ISD superintendent, noted in a release on Tuesday<\/a> that the rest of the 2026 schedule has been canceled \u201cdue to a high number of injuries and a shortage of healthy players.\u201d<\/p>\n

How the Chargers Did This Year and Last Season<\/p>\n

The Chargers, a Class 3A program that was competing in the University Interscholastic League (UIL) for the first time this season, won 28-8 in its season opener against Riesel then lost their next three games. Keene did not have a game this week, but there were six games remaining on its schedule for October that ended up as forfeits.<\/p>\n

Keene was 6-2 in 2025 after it went through an independent football slate.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe know how much this impacts our school, coaches, players, and community, and we are truly sorry for the disruption this causes,\u201d Stephens said. \u201cCanceling games that affect our district partners was not an easy choice, and we deeply regret putting those teams in this position.\u201d<\/p>\n

Keene\u2019s Football Program Began Five Years Ago<\/p>\n

According to a report by USA Today<\/a>, Keene established its football program in 2021 at the junior high level. The program has won any state titles or made any playoff appearances since its inception.<\/p>\n

Stephens noted that looking ahead, the district decided they won\u2019t field a varsity team for the 2027 season.<\/p>\n

\u201cGiven our current roster numbers, we are afraid we would run into this exact same situation next fall,\u201d Stephens added. \u201cWe wanted to give other schools this notice now so their district has enough time to redraw the schedule and find replacement games without having to go through this uncertainty again.\u201d<\/p>\n

The District\u2019s Next Steps<\/p>\n

Despite not being able to \u201csafely field\u201d a varsity team for the foreseeable future, Stephens said the district is determined to let healthy players continue to play football.<\/p>\n

Keene ISD\u2019s plan to handle the rest of the schedule is as follows:<\/p>\n

\u00a0Junior High: \u201cWe will honor all of our remaining Junior High games as scheduled,\u201d Stephens said.JV and Sub-Varsity: \u201cFor our remaining healthy high school players, we are actively looking to schedule games against JV teams or smaller private school programs so their season doesn’t have to end early,\u201d Stephens added.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt the end of the day, this comes down to protecting the safety of our kids and doing what is best for the future of our program,\u201d Stephens said. \u201cTaking this step allows us to focus on rebuilding our numbers from the bottom up so we can return to varsity competition safely down the road.<\/p>\n

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